CH 144

Chapter 144

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : A Name That Calls Death, Part 16 — Speculation

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

＊＊＊

And there was Lifeless and Kaede. Lifeless is enveloped in flames, but he is still in a hawkish attitude, while Kaede continues to restrain Lifeless with flames without changing her color. But it was clear which side had the advantage.

Kaede, who would eventually exhaust herself, or Lifeless, who was as good as immortal. It seemed only a matter of time before the results came in, but then, like a puff of smoke, Elrich appeared from the empty space.

「Lifeless-sama, an army of Seekers is here… what’s that fire?」

「That little girl… she’s not here?」

While Lifeless was momentarily distracted by Elrich, Kaede had already escaped. Not a shadow or shape was already in sight. Lifeless sighs in admiration at the splendid withdrawal.

「I was beaten spectacularly. It seems that going all out for the first time in a long time not only makes you feel elated, but it also makes you let your guard down. This didn’t happen in the past, but I must be getting old.」

「You jest…」

Lifeless turns to Elrich and grins. It’s a completely naughty remark, as Lifeless has no concept of age at this point in his life.

And Elrich, though momentarily surprised by Lifeless’s joke, reverently curtsies to him.

「Lifeless-sama, what do you want to do after this?」

「Nothing to be done, just like we discussed. How many Seekers did you kill?」

「Many of them have high resistance to magic and are proficient in healing magic, so I doubt that as many as 500 are dead.」

「500 dead or not… just as calculated.」

Lifeless and Elrich, who looked at each other, smiled wryly.

「I don’t want the Seekers to be wiped out so easily. But I will take only this royal family at the request of Anomaly. If the royal family has been killed, the Seekers will have no choice but to get their act together.」

「I see. Then, I will carry this Seeker.」

「I’ll leave it to you. I’ve got to keep this place spotless.」

As if to say, Lifeless tore off his left arm and threw it carelessly. The arm disappeared as if melting into the ground, and a magic circle emerged. Of course, the left arm itself is regenerated immediately. And as Lifeless sit there and mutter something, the ground slowly rots away, and as the rotting soil reaches the trees, they too wither and die. It was as if all life had been taken from the surrounding area.

This is the opposite of the purification of the land practiced by the Church of Arnelia, an act of witchcraft commonly called『sanctification』or even『darkening.』Defile the land and make it proper for fiends. It was a necessary act for Lifeless who intended to unleash Archfiends on this land.

And when he finished chanting the spell, Lifeless stood up with a start.

「Okay, now the Seekers can’t come back to this land. They can’t purify up the land. I cringed when Alfiris blew off half my body, but I’m glad I left the left side with Doom in the works.」

「Yes. The quick『sanctification』is a secret of the Arnelian Church, you know. But I’m sure the Seekers will know how to take their time.」

「I won’t let you take such a long time. Bloody Maria will unleash Archfiends here at once. The Prairie will be turned into an Archfiend’s Lair with Archfiends running around. This will make this lukewarm world somewhat more exciting.」

Lifeless imagined the scene of Archfiends strutting about, and the corners of his mouth twisted in amusement. Then Lifeless heard the shouts of the Seekers in his ears.

「They’re here. Now, there’s one more thing to prepare. Are you ready?」

「I’ll be thorough. This way, please.」

「Umu.」

Then they both disappeared.

＊＊＊

The two reappeared on the north side of Mutrio, where they had first attacked. There they found several Seekers lying there, their hands and feet bound and gagged.

Trapped in a ward, Lifeless look down emotionlessly at the Seekers lying helpless on the ground.

「Looks like the manhunt has eluded them.」

「Yes. It would be more correct to say that the battle raged and they abandoned them.」

「It was a mess in here, no doubt about it. But still, they were unlucky. It would’ve been easier if they had just died.」

「Indeed.」

He imagine the fate of the Seeker and feel a little pity for Lifeless, but that doesn’t mean he is going to cut corners. He immediately calls in his men.

「Are you here, Masquerade?」

「I’m here.」

A woman emerged from the shadows of the house, looking much like a Seeker, but with red eyes, a trait common among those who are called Scorners.

「You know what you’re doing, don’t you?」

「Yes, to create a conflict between Seekers and humans… is that correct?」

「That’s right. That’s why you’re going to be undercover with them for a long time. You’re going to have to be good at it and get them to fight with the humans. I’ll tell you how to do it.」

「Understood. Then I shall borrow this woman’s face.」

Masquerade stands up, pulls out a knife from her waist, and touches it to the face of the woman lying on the floor. The Seeker woman’s face contorts in fear as she is hit by the knife. Seeing her face, Masquerade removes the woman’s gag and says a few words.

「Nice face. I’m sorry, but I need to borrow your face.」

「W–What are you…」

Without waiting for the Seeker woman’s reply, Masquerade places a knife to its face and cuts the skin along its face with the knife. The woman screams out a shriek that seems to reach all the way to hell, but the sound is blocked by a ward and never reaches the outside world. Also, since Elrich was firmly restraining her with magic, the woman couldn’t resist.

The woman fainted from the pain, but the masquerade’s knife moved forward without hesitation. And when she pressed the cut skin against her own face, it settled into the skin of Masquerade, and lo and behold, she had the same face as the Seeker woman.

Lifeless watches the whole process and gives an honest compliment.

「A useful ability, a master of transformation indeed. Hidden only recommends it.」

Masquerade lightly bows at the lifeless woman’s words, and then she begins to pull off the woman’s clothes and touch various parts of her body. Then Masquerade’s body changed to match the Seeker woman’s physique. Soon after, Masquerade transformed into the same physique as the Seeker. After some vocalization, it seems that even her voice was completely copied. Her forehead is slightly sweaty.

「Fuu…」

A sigh escaped him from exhaustion as he wondered if the transformation would take a lot of strength, even for Masquerade. Perhaps it was worth it, but her figure was completely unchanged from that of the original Seeker woman. Then Lifeless asked a question.

「What about the eyes…」

「Of course I’ll borrow it.」

Masquerade is quick to say so, the masquerade plunges her hand into the Seeker woman’s eye and borrows her eyeball. The other Seekers’ eyes become clouded with fear at the sheer cruelty and lack of hesitation. She then pressed the eye she had taken out against her own eye, and her disguise was complete when the eye entered the eyes of Masquerade.

「Now all that’s left is to wipe up the blood, change the clothes, and I’m done.」

「Okay, now this way.」

While Masquerade made the rest of the preparations, Lifeless urged Elrich to remove the bottle from his pocket. Inside the jar was an insect he had never seen before, shaped like a scorpion or a spider, but it was running around inside the jar energetically, or perhaps too energetically, while clucking its mouth. Lifeless accepts the bottle and turns to the seeker.

「Now, you know what I’m going to do to you people?」

But the Seekers were too terrified to react properly. After seeing what had just happened to their friends, it was not unreasonable.

「Hmmm. As a gesture of goodwill, they may allow you to choose who will be their test subjects. Show them with your eyes who you will offer up to be the test subjects. Whoever gets the most looks will be the experimenter.」

The Seekers were at first amused by the Lifeless’ proposal, but when the first one looked next to the other Seeker to see how he looked, they began to look at each other with a great deal of hatred. As soon as their mouths are free, they will start cursing dirty.

「Fu… Even the Seekers aren’t much different from humans. I can see Doom’s point… nhn?」

One Seeker caught the eye of Lifeless. He is still young, but his eyes are downcast and still. Lifeless removes the man’s gag.

「Do you not plead for your life?」

「…You’re going to kill us all anyway, right? Then there’s no point in begging for my life. I won’t give up my pride as a Seeker!」

At these words, the other Seekers stopped moving. Then, perhaps ashamed of their own behavior, they all became quiet, their eyes downcast.

「Ohh, that’s admirable for someone so young. A brave young man.」

「Don’t play games with me. If you’re going to do it, start with me.」

The young man then glares at Lifeless. But Lifeless is not upset at all.

「Don’t be in such a hurry to die. I like brave men. You might survive under the right conditions, you know?」

「What do you mean?」

「Before that, you…」

Lifeless grabs the other Seeker by the chest.

「You looked around at all the others earlier, didn’t you? I hate people who sacrifice others to save themselves. So I’m going to start with you. Elrich, get that person to open its mouth.」

Elrich then removes the man’s gag and forces him to open his mouth. Lifeless opens the lid of the jar and removes the creature inside, which is neither an insect nor a creature of any kind. Then, perhaps realizing that they are now free, the insects begin to rampage with tremendous force.

「They were lively bugs…」

「Lifeless-sama. What are you going to do with that?」

「Isn’t it obvious, throw it in this fool’s mouth. That’s what Calamity asked me to do.」

It was as if he could hear the blood drain from the man’s face as he heard those words. And then the man begins to lash out.

「Stohp… stohp… it…」

「Too bad I can’t hear it.」

He then threw the worm into the man’s mouth, and the worm went into the man in a frenzied dance.

「Geh, gebuuoohh! Ugh, oeeh, oooeeeeegghhhh…」

The man rolls around on the floor in agony and pain. He repeatedly convulses violently, vomiting and clawing at his throat, trying hard to expel the insects. The convulsions were so severe that wounds were inflicted all over his body, and blood poured from his head as he hit the ground, but the man eventually stopped twitching.

And not long after he stops moving, his body undergoes a change. His body, which should have been injured, was repaired before he saw it, and he stood up with a munching motion.

「Fuu…」

And strangely enough, a woman’s voice came out of his mouth. Not only the rest of the Seekers, but even Elrich and Masquerade looked at this fact.